All Science
Asteroid nearly two miles wide sails past EarthAsteroid fly-by didn't pose a risk of striking Earth, but NASA is working to catalog space rocks that could pose a threat – and be ready to deflect them.
Mars rat? Another case of Red Planet pareidoliaMars rat: NASA's Mars Curiosity rover took a snapshot of a rock that looks like a rat or maybe a lizard. UFO buffs spotted it and now the 'Mars rat' image has gone viral. Do you see it?
How did the turtle get its shell?A study of a 260-million-year-old fossil could help settle a debate about an evolutionary novelty.
Asteroid flyby: No danger this time, but astronomers are taking lots of notesAsteroid QE2 – at 1.7 miles wide a space rock worth keeping tabs on – and its moon pass closest to Earth Friday. Astronomers are seizing the chance to study up close a potential future hazard.
Water on Mars: The secret's in the pebblesCuriosity rover found rocks made of smooth, round pebbles, adding to the growing pile of evidence for water flowing across the surface of Mars. To smooth the pebbles, they must have bounced along in a stream between 4 inches and 4 feet deep, scientists say.
World's first bird? New fossil bumps Archaeopteryx off its perch.A new contender for the world's first bird, the feathered Aurornis xui is older than the more famous Archaeopteryx, which it reconfirms as a bird, not a dinosaur. But the line between birds and dinosaurs remains fuzzy.
Sending humans to Mars holds radiation risk, study showsA radiation-monitoring device carried by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurements during the trip to the red planet. A resulting study appears in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
- Bigfoot 'proof' available, says caller
A 911 call with claims of Bigfoot 'proof' started an online frenzy. The investigating officer concluded the footprints belonged to a bear, but the 911 caller remains convinced it was Bigfoot.
Fossil deemed bird, not dinosaurNew research finds that the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx, is in fact a bird, not a dinosaur as some scientists had suggested. However, the line between feathered dinosaurs and birds remains fuzzy.
Why doesn't Venus have oceans? Study offers intriguing new theory.Venus is Earth's twin in many ways, so its lack of liquid water oceans has perplexed scientists. A new study suggests that Venus might be about 7 million miles too close to the sun.
Zombie plants? Frozen plants thaw and wake up from 400-year napPlants frozen under a Greenland glacier hundreds of years ago are growing again, after rapidly melting glaciers expose them to sunlight and air.
Soyuz takes shortcut to International Space StationA Russian Soyuz rocket made the journey to the ISS in six hours, instead of two days. How did the Russians shorten the trip?
Cicadas now emerging on Staten IslandCicadas of the Brood II population are now making their debut in New York City, for the first time in 17 years.
How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'Chalk up another point for the nearly invincible cockroach. Some roaches have lost their sweet tooth for certain sugars, commonly used to bait poison traps, through genetic adaptation.
Space station astronauts snap amazing photos of Alaskan volcanic eruptionPavlof Volcano has been erupting for over a week, releasing a humongous plume of ash, steam, and smoke visible from the International Space Station. The eruption has quieted down, but seismic data suggests that it's not over.
Why did our ancestors start walking upright? Ancient terrain may hold clue.A study suggests that rocky landscapes in East and South Africa could have pushed our apelike ancestors toward bipedalism.
A vacation to the moon: Worth the splurge?NASA isn't planning a return trip to the moon, but private companies are speculating on the Moon's tourism and colonization possibilities. How much would you pay for a trip?
How cockroaches are evolving to avoid sweetsEvolution could now favor cockroaches with an aversion to glucose, the sugary flavoring that disguises the taste of the poison in roach bait.
- Dinosaur chomped like a bird of prey, say scientists
A study of an Allosaurus fossil found that the massive dinosaur dined more like a kestrel than a crocodile, tearing flesh from carcasses by pulling its head straight back.
Oklahoma tornado was stronger than Hiroshima bomb: How?When the conditions are exactly right – and they were, for the tornado that devastated Oklahoma City yesterday – a tornado can unleash more power than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
